FATHER OF MURDERED LUCIE TO GIVE EVIDENCE

22/02/06

By Lesley Richardson, PA

The father of murdered British hostess Lucie Blackman is to fly out to Japan to give evidence in the trial against her alleged killer, he said today.Tim Blackman, 52, will tell judges in a Tokyo court about the impact the murder of his 21-year-old daughter has had on the family and what they believe should happen to the accused if he is found guilty.

Ms Blackman, a former flight attendant from Sevenoaks in Kent, was working as a hostess in a nightclub in the Roppongi district of Tokyo when she vanished in July 2000. Her dismembered body was found in a cave in Miura, a remote and secluded fishing village outside Tokyo, in February 2001, after a seven-month search.

Japanese businessman Joji Obara, in his fifties, is on trial charged with killing Ms Blackman and another foreign hostess, and with raping six other women.He is also charged with the abduction of Ms Blackman, rape resulting in death, and the disposal of her body.He denies any involvement in the killing.

Obara's four-storey apartment block, where he is alleged to have chopped up Ms Blackman's body and encased her head in concrete, is about 100 yards from the cave where her body was found.Mr Blackman, from the Isle of Wight, in Hampshire, is due to fly out to Japan on April 23 before presenting his impact statement to the court on April 25.

He will stay in Japan for at least another day to speak with prosecution counsel about the progress of the trial, which has already taken about three years."Being called out to give our impact statements is very much towards the end of the trial process," said Mr Blackman."The impact of the crime on the victim's family is something the Japanese system takes into consideration when they are reviewing the whole case with regard to guilt and punishment.

"British Police have been advising Mr Blackman as he drafts the statement, which he had been told to keep "secure and secret" as it is court evidence."If I had not had the level of involvement in it that I have had they would probably just call the mother, as is the way in Japan, but because I have had such an extensive involvement in it and being part of the whole thing they are calling me as well to say what impact this has had on me and my family.

"Mr Blackman said the long-running trial was an ordeal for his entire family including his former wife, Jane Steare, 51, and Lucie's 22-year-old brother Rupert, and sister Sophie, 25.He has attended court on numerous occasions and has seen Obara face-to-face.Mr Blackman has also set up a trust in memory of his daughter, which aims to educate on personal safety using new technology.

Mr Blackman has set up a delayed texting internet site, www.safetytext.com, which aims to ensure that family or friends are alerted as soon as their loved one goes missing so that the search can begin immediately.Users leave a delayed message explaining where they are going and with whom. They decide how long to delay the message, from 30 minutes to 24 hours, and if they do not return within the stated time and cancel the message, it is sent by text to a chosen friend or relative.

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